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Libertarian Party at Sea on Land

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Libertarian Party at Sea on Land Libertarian Party at Sea on Land To Mom who taught me the Golden Rule and Henry George 121 years ahead of his time and still counting Libertarian Party at Sea on Land Author: Harold Kyriazi Book ISBN: 978-1-952489-02-0 First Published 2000 Robert Schalkenbach Foundation Official Publishers of the works of Henry George The Robert Schalkenbach Foundation (RSF) is a private operating foundation, founded in 1925, to promote public awareness of the social philosophy and economic reforms advocated by famed 19th century thinker and activist, Henry George. Today, RSF remains true to its founding doctrine, and through efforts focused on education, communities, outreach, and publishing, works to create a world in which all people are afforded the basic necessities of life and the natural world is protected for generations to come. ROBERT SCHALKENBACH FOUND ATION Robert Schalkenbach Foundation [email protected] www.schalkenbach.org Libertarian Party at Sea on Land By Harold Kyriazi ROBERT SCHALKENBACH FOUNDATION New York City 2020 Acknowledgments Dan Sullivan, my longtime fellow Pittsburgher and geo-libertarian, not only introduced me to this subject about seven years ago, but has been a wonderful teacher and tireless consultant over the years since then. I’m deeply indebted to him, and appreciative of his steadfast efforts to enlighten his fellow libertarians here in Pittsburgh and elsewhere. Robin Robertson, a fellow geo-libertarian whom I met at the 1999 Council of Georgist Organizations Conference, gave me detailed constructive criticism on an early draft, brought Ayn Rand’s essay on the broadcast spectrum to my attention, helped conceive the cover illustration, and helped in other ways too numerous to mention. Several geo-libertarians have responded to questions I posed to them by email, and I thank them for their dedication in disseminating their vision of the true and beautiful: Mike O’Mara, and economists Fred Foldvary and Nicolaus Tideman. Mark A. Sullivan, Executive Assistant at the Robert Schalkenbach Foundation, and President of the Council of Georgist Organizations, pointed me toward many scholarly references early on in my explorations of having this work published, and helped with the later nuts and bolts as well. Schalkenbach’s Executive Director, Ted Gwartney, a longtime real estate appraiser, engaged me in some meaningful discourse on the moral and practical aspects of land value tax, and pointed me toward Harry Pollard, Executive Director of the Henry George School of Social Science of Los Angeles, with whom I’ve engaged in lively e-mail debate about "land value rebates." Robert V. Andelson, a member of the Schalkenbach publications committee, and a prominent and prolific geo-libertarian, pointed me toward many of his relevant works, and also brought Bertrand de Jouvenel’s statements about natural resource monopoly to my attention. Two words come to mind when I think of Bob — scholar and gentleman. I also wish to convey my appreciation to the other members of the Robert Schalkenbach Foundation publications committee, for their decision to publish this essay. Thanks to Don Ernsberger for comments on the manuscript. Special thanks to my colleague, Brad Minnery, for applying his considerable talents in drawing the cover illustration. I thank the Universal Press Syndicate for allowing the reproduction of two Toles cartoons free of charge. Finally, I wish to thank my brother, Nick, and two other local libertarians, Henry Haller and David Nayberg, for remaining unconvinced during many long discussions. Their obstinacy has led me to believe that the best, and perhaps the only, way to reach most libertarians — if not most people — on this subject is to adhere very closely to principle. Hopefully they will find something persuasive in these pages. I used to think that libertarians were the best group of people I’d ever been around. But I have to rank geo-libertarians even higher on that scale after having met many of them at the above-mentioned conference (Gaithersburg, MD, July, 1999). Their love, understanding, scholarship and dedication are truly inspirational. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA Harold Kyriazi June, 2000 Contents Preface 1: Introduction 2: First Principles 3: Land views of classical liberals, contemporary libertarians, and other greats 4: Other arguments for and against LVT 5: Geo-libertarian Proposals for Change Appendix — Internet Contacts Bibliography Index About the Author Preface Why this essay? I’m a libertarian. I believe that the ideas embodied by the libertarian movement in general, and the Libertarian Party in particular, represent humanity’s only hope for a future worth living. But I also think the Libertarian Party and the majority of today’s libertarians (along with almost everyone else) are wrong about a seemingly insignificant, but fundamental aspect of political philosophy — our system of ownership of land and other natural resources — and have strayed far from our classical liberal roots. I believe that a recognition of this aberration, and a return to our roots, will open up a common ground, of economic freedom and justice, on which freedom lovers of all persuasions — left, right, and libertarian — may join together in an unbeatable coalition. The future is ours for the taking, if only we’ll all do a bit more studying! This essay is written toward that end. I was introduced to the concept of land value tax (LVT) gradually, through the patient efforts of Dan Sullivan, while we both worked with many other freedom lovers to develop the Libertarian Party of Pittsburgh during the period from 1992 to the present. Several of the arguments presented here are ones he made to me. And, if you’re a libertarian who wants a concise presentation of these ideas, I highly recommend Dan’s essay entitled "Are You a Real Libertarian or a Royal Libertarian?" (It’s available electronically on his web site, or in print form from the Robert Schalkenbach Foundation — for both, see "Web Sites of Interest," p.l13.) One indication of how much my thinking has changed over the past few years is that I used to be outraged that I didn’t really own my own land: failure to pay my property taxes could result in a "Sheriffs Sale" of my home. "I’m just renting from the government!", I fumed. But now, I don’t think I or anyone else should be allowed to own land free and clear of all obligation to the rest of humanity. Before, I thought a "head tax" was probably the most appropriate way to fund government; everyone should pay the same amount because, I thought, we all get the exact same benefits from the valid functions of government. Now, I think it’s absolutely essential that each holder of land pay a net site value rent (i.e., LVT), which is the location value of his land minus the value he adds to that of the rest of the community. If he contributes more than he gets, then the community owes him something in return (a "land value rebate"). A major benefit of this transformation I’ve undergone is that, for the first time, I could have an effective dialogue with liberals about economic matters. Previously, I thought they had absolutely no leg to stand on. I thought 100% of our economic problems came from their so-called "Progressive" Movement. But now, I could see that a) there was such a thing as monopoly not caused by Big Brother Government (it was caused even by our small, 19th century government), and b) there was a problem with our form of capitalism, as its allowance of some to monopolize natural resources amounted to a rather vicious denial of everyone else’s inherent right of free and equal access to Nature’s Bounty. (In fact, it was our small, 19th century government’s allowance of such monopoly which led to the extreme degree of social and economic injustice that fueled the Progressive Movement.) As proof of the general significance of such a personal, intellectual transformation, I offer the example of what has happened here in Pittsburgh over the past seven years. Starting with one advocate of LVT, Dan Sullivan, we’ve had a steady progression of libertarian converts, each of whom has been inspired to run for public office with LVT as a major campaign issue (the converts who haven’t run yet are only college age —give them time!). And, they constitute the majority of Pittsburgh-area libertarians who have run for public office. They include Mike Goldman (Wilkinsburg mayoral race in 1993 and Pennsylvania State House in 1994), this author (Pittsburgh City Council in 1995 and State Senate in 1998), Ron Rosenberger (1998, State Senate), and in 1999, Robert Chesnavich (Allegheny County Council) and Andy Corkan (County Council At-Large). What caused these individuals to step forward and run? I think it was the added knowledge that they actually have something to offer everyone —a full measure of liberty and justice for all, both in one’s personal life and one’s economic life. Wouldn’t you just love to be able to establish a rapport with liberals—even outright socialists — about economics? To be able to agree with them that, yes, there’s something wrong at the base of our capitalist system (though there’s nothing wrong with capitalism per se)? To agree with them that the system grinds down and oppresses the working poor? To be able to understand why socialists view capitalist centers of wealth creation as inherently despicable — as centers of injustice where "the rich guy steals from the workers and gets away with it"? They’re wrong, of course, but not as utterly wrong as I used to think. I used to view socialists, almost literally, as mentally defective: "How can anyone with a brain have such a misperception of reality?" But now I no longer have such a dim view of many of my fellow human beings.
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